sb 0129

CHAPTER 321

SB 129 – FINAL VERSION

SPONSORS: Sen. Hassan, Dist 23; Sen. DeVries, Dist 18; Sen. Reynolds, Dist 2; Sen. Houde, Dist 5; Rep. Nord, Rock 1; Rep. Schlachman, Rock 13; Rep. Headd, Rock 3; Rep. Kopka, Hills 26

I. Gradually raises the limit of employer payment contributions to the unemployment compensation fund.

II. Sets the minimum rate of employer contribution to the unemployment contribution fund.

IV. Details procedures when benefits charged exceed benefits credited on certain computation dates.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

321:1 Payment of Contributions; Effective January 1, 2010. Amend RSA 282-A:69, I to read as follows:

I. Contributions shall accrue and become payable by each employer for each calendar year, in which [he] the employer is subject to this chapter, in an amount equal to 2.7 percent, except as otherwise provided in RSA 282-A:79-90, of the wages paid or payable for employment during such calendar year, not to exceed [~~$8,000~~] $10,000 which have been paid to an individual in any calendar year. Such contributions shall become due and be paid by each employer to the commissioner of the department of employment security for the fund in accordance with such rules as the commissioner of the department of employment security may adopt and shall not be deducted, in whole or in part, from the wages of individuals in such employer’s employ; provided that the contributions of an employer becoming subject to the law within any calendar year shall be first due and payable after such employer has satisfied the conditions with respect to becoming an employer. For the purposes of this section, the term “wages” shall include service subject to contribution under any employment security law of another state.

321:2 Payment of Contributions; Effective January 1, 2011. Amend RSA 282-A:69, I to read as follows:

I. Contributions shall accrue and become payable by each employer for each calendar year, in which the employer is subject to this chapter, in an amount equal to 2.7 percent, except as otherwise provided in RSA 282-A:79-90, of the wages paid or payable for employment during such calendar year, not to exceed [~~$10,000~~] $12,000 which have been paid to an individual in any calendar year. Such contributions shall become due and be paid by each employer to the commissioner of the department of employment security for the fund in accordance with such rules as the commissioner of the department of employment security may adopt and shall not be deducted, in whole or in part, from the wages of individuals in such employer’s employ; provided that the contributions of an employer becoming subject to the law within any calendar year shall be first due and payable after such employer has satisfied the conditions with respect to becoming an employer. For the purposes of this section, the term “wages” shall include service subject to contribution under any employment security law of another state.

321:3 Payment of Contributions; Effective January 1, 2012. Amend RSA 282-A:69, I to read as follows:

I. Contributions shall accrue and become payable by each employer for each calendar year, in which the employer is subject to this chapter, in an amount equal to 2.7 percent, except as otherwise provided in RSA 282-A:79-90, of the wages paid or payable for employment during such calendar year, not to exceed [~~$12,000~~] $14,000 which have been paid to an individual in any calendar year. Such contributions shall become due and be paid by each employer to the commissioner of the department of employment security for the fund in accordance with such rules as the commissioner of the department of employment security may adopt and shall not be deducted, in whole or in part, from the wages of individuals in such employer’s employ; provided that the contributions of an employer becoming subject to the law within any calendar year shall be first due and payable after such employer has satisfied the conditions with respect to becoming an employer. For the purposes of this section, the term “wages” shall include service subject to contribution under any employment security law of another state.

321:4 New Section; Emergency Surcharge. Amend RSA 282-A by inserting after section 84 the following new section:

282-A:84-a Emergency Surcharge. For contribution rates applicable to calendar quarters commencing on or after January 1, 2010, should the unemployment compensation trust fund fail to equal or exceed $150,000,000 throughout the next preceding calendar quarter and should the commissioner determine that the exercise of emergency power pursuant to RSA 282-A:84 is insufficient to preserve the solvency of the trust fund, the commissioner may add to every employer’s contribution rate a .5 percent surcharge. Such surcharge shall be in addition to the contribution rate assigned under any other provision of RSA 282-A.

I. There shall be subtracted in any calendar quarter from every employer’s contribution rate .5 percent whenever the unemployment compensation fund equals or exceeds $250,000,000 throughout the next preceding calendar quarter.

II. There shall be subtracted in any calendar quarter from every employer’s contribution rate one percent whenever the unemployment compensation fund equals or exceeds $275,000,000 throughout the next preceding calendar quarter.

III. There shall be subtracted in any calendar quarter from every employer’s contribution rate 1.5 percent whenever the unemployment compensation fund equals or exceeds $300,000,000 throughout the next preceding calendar quarter.

IV. The minimum contribution rate under this section shall not be less than .10 percent.

321:6 New Section; Inverse Minimum Rate. Amend RSA 282-A by inserting after section 82 the following new section:

282-A:82-a Inverse Minimum Rate. For each employer assigned a rate under RSA 282-A:87, II or II-a:

I. There shall be added in any calendar quarter to every such employer’s contribution rate 1.5 percent whenever the unemployment compensation fund fails to equal or exceed $250,000,000 throughout the next preceding calendar quarter.

II. There shall be added in any calendar quarter to every such employer’s contribution rate one percent whenever the unemployment compensation fund fails to equal or exceed $275,000,000 throughout the next preceding calendar quarter.

III. There shall be added in any calendar quarter to every such employer’s contribution rate .5 percent whenever the unemployment compensation fund fails to equal or exceed $300,000,000 throughout the next preceding calendar quarter.

I. An unemployed individual shall be eligible to receive benefits with respect to any week only if the commissioner finds that:

(a) He or she has been classified in accordance with his or her experience and abilities and so registered for employment with and by the commissioner and has reported and continues thereafter to report at an employment office in accordance with such rules as the commissioner may adopt.

(b) He or she has made a claim for benefits in accordance with the provisions of RSA 282-A:43.

(c) He or she is ready, willing, and able to accept and perform suitable full-time or part-time work on all the shifts and during all the hours for which there is a market for the services he or she offers and that he or she has exposed himself or herself to employment to the extent commensurate with the economic conditions and the efforts of a reasonably prudent person seeking work.

(d) He or she is available for and seeking permanent, full-time or part-time work for which he or she is qualified provided that, if availability is limited to part-time work, the claim for unemployment benefits is based on wages earned in part-time work.

(e) He or she has disclosed whether or not he or she owes child support obligations that are payable through any agency of the state of New Hampshire or its political subdivisions.

(f) He or she has participated in reemployment services when so directed by the commissioner unless he or she has completed such services or has good cause for failure to participate in such services.

(g) The individual has disclosed whether or not he or she owes an uncollected overissuance of food stamp coupons as defined in section 13(c)(1) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 as amended.

(h) For benefit years commencing on or after January 3, 2010, the individual has served a waiting period of one week of total or partial unemployment as defined in RSA 282-A:14. No week may be counted as a week of total or partial unemployment for the purpose of this subparagraph:

(2) Unless it occurs within the benefit year which includes the week with respect to which the individual claims payment of benefits; and

(3) Unless the individual was eligible for benefits with respect to that week, as provided in this section and RSA 282-A:32, except for the requirements of this subparagraph.

(i) There shall be no corresponding reduction in the individual’s maximum benefit amount under RSA 282-A:25, I as a result of subparagraph (h).

321:8 Disqualification for Benefits. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 282-A:32 to read as follows:

282-A:32 Disqualifications for Benefits. In this section, “date” as used in “subsequent to the date” means the last calendar day on which the individual performed services for the employer. An individual shall be disqualified for benefits and no waiting period may be served:

321:9 Computation Date. RSA 282-A:86 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

I. The computation date shall be January 31. The total for all past years of all benefits charged as of the computation date against an employer’s separate account shall be subtracted from the total of all contributions paid on an employer’s own behalf and credited as of the computation date to the employer’s separate account for all past years. Delinquent contributions received after January 31, 1997 shall be credited to the employer’s separate account on the next computation or recomputation date.

II. If contributions so credited exceed benefits so charged, the excess shall be computed as a percent of the employer’s average annual payroll, which percent shall determine the contribution rate as provided in RSA 282-A:87, I.

III. Commencing with the computation date of January 31, 2010, if benefits so charged exceed contributions so credited, and benefits so charged have exceeded contributions so credited for 3 or fewer consecutive computation dates including the computation date of January 31, 2010, the excess shall be computed as a percent of the employer’s average annual payroll, which percent shall determine the contribution rate as provided in RSA 282-A:87, II.

IV. Commencing with the computation date of January 31, 2010, if benefits so charged exceed contributions so credited, and benefits so charged have exceeded contributions so credited for 4 or more consecutive computation dates including the computation date of January 31, 2010, the excess shall be computed as a percent of the employer’s average annual payroll, which percent shall determine the contribution rate as provided in RSA 282-A:87, II-a.

321:10 New Schedule; Contribution Rates. RSA 282-A:87, I-II are repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

I. An employer’s contribution rate shall, after computation is made in the manner described in RSA 282-A:86, and subject to the provisions and conditions of this subdivision otherwise provided, be in the following percent:

II. An employer’s contribution rate shall, after computation is made in the manner described in RSA 282-A:86, and subject to the provisions and conditions of this subdivision otherwise provided, be in the following percent:

II-a. An employer’s contribution rate shall, after computation is made in the manner described in RSA 282-A:86, and subject to the provisions and conditions of this subdivision otherwise provided, be in the following percent:

321:11 Standard Rate and Qualification for Reduced Merit Rate. Amend RSA 282-A:85, III to read as follows:

III. No employer assigned an earned rate under RSA 282-A:87, II or II-a shall be assigned a rate less than the maximum in that paragraph for any fiscal year effective with the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1995, unless as of April 30 preceding said fiscal year the employer has properly and duly submitted reports and contributions previously due under this chapter.

282-A:90 Ineligible for Rate Reduction. No employer assigned a rate under RSA 282-A:87, II or II-a, shall be entitled to any such rate reductions occasioned by fund balances as are provided in RSA 282-A:79-89.

321:13 Severability. If any provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is found to be invalid, illegal, unenforceable, or unconstitutional, the same is hereby declared to be severable and the balance of this act shall remain effective and functional notwithstanding such invalidity, illegality, unenforceability, or unconstitutionality. The general court declares that it would have passed this act, and each provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word be declared invalid, illegal, unenforceable, or unconstitutional, including, but not limited to, each of the engagement, divestment, and prohibition provisions of this act.